Electoral Registration

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in making projections about levels of registration under the system of individual electoral registration proposed in the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, what assumptions they have made about the level of local authority spending on electoral registration in (1) 2012, (2) 2013, (3) 2014, and (4) 2015. [HL2040]

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on levels of electoral registration if local authorities do not spend the funds allocated to them for electoral registration to that end in (1) 2012, (2) 2013, (3) 2014, and (4) 2015. [HL2041]

Lord Newby: Funding to meet the cost of the transition to IER was allocated in the 2010 comprehensive spending review with �108 million allocated over the spending review period. The Government are committed to funding the full cost of the transition to IER, over and above the current cost of electoral registration. Local authorities will continue to fund electoral registration from their formula grant and the Government will ensure that there is sufficient funding for transition by making specific payments under Section 31 of the Local Government Act. This funding will be supplied for specific transition activities (such as digital changes, training and transitional canvass arrangements) through upfront or retrospective grants, depending on which activity is being funded. The Government propose that these funds will also be supplied to local authorities on the basis of local needs in terms of population turnover or other factors.
Local authorities are under a statutory duty (Section 54 of the Representation of the People Act 1983) to pay an electoral registration officer’s expenses properly incurred in the performance of their functions. Electoral registration officers will be under specific legal obligations to carry out responsibilities agreed by Parliament during the transition. Those who fail to do so will be in breach of their duties, which (in the absence of reasonable cause) is an offence under Section 63 of the 1983 Act. Local authorities presently allocate funding from their area-based grant for registration activities to comply with their present statutory duties and we expect that they will continue to do so.

Electoral Registration

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their proposals in the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill on levels of electoral registration (1) among young people aged between 18 and 25, (2) among students, (3) among people with learning disabilities, (4) among people with disabilities more generally, (5) among people living in areas of high social deprivation, (6) among ethnic minorities, (7) in England, (8) in Scotland, (9) in Wales, (10) in metropolitan areas, (11) in urban areas, (12) in suburban areas, (13) in rural areas, (14) in coastal regions, (15) in parliamentary constituencies currently represented by Conservative MPs, (16) in parliamentary constituencies currently represented by Labour MPs, and (17) in parliamentary constituencies currently represented by Liberal Democrat MPs. [HL2042]

Lord Newby: The Government have carried out a detailed programme of research to inform their decision making on the implementation of individual electoral registration. They have funded the Electoral Commission to publish an updated study on the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register to understand the scale of the challenge; they have funded an independent academic to carry out a literature review of all available research into electoral registration; and they have commissioned a qualitative study which explored the barriers to registration for those groups missing from the register under the current system, and those most at risk during the transition to IER. All of this information has been made publicly available to inform parliamentary scrutiny and debates (which is available on the Cabinet Office website).

Government Departments: Ministerial Code

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they have made to ensure that Ministers with responsibilities in the Cabinet Office comply with clauses 1.2(b) and 1.2(d) of the Ministerial Code. [HL2039]

Lord Newby: As the Ministerial Code makes clear, it is for individual Ministers to account to Parliament for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments.

Private Sector: Cash Resources

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they estimate that cash resources held by private companies in the United Kingdom are increasing or decreasing. [H
L2023
]

Lord Newby: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Newby, dated August 2012.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary Question to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they estimate that cash resources held by private companies in the United Kingdom are increasing or decreasing. [BIS] HL2023.
The Office for National Statistics publishes an annual United Kingdom National Accounts: The Blue Book which presents a full set of economic accounts, or National Accounts, for the United Kingdom. Chapters 3 and 4 of the Blue Book comprise the fullest available set of accounts showing transactions by the private non-financial and financial sectors of the economy respectively. The Blue Book 2012 was published on 31 July 2012 and is available on the National Statistics web site at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-national-accounts/the-blue-book--2012-edition/index.html
I have interpreted the term "cash resources" in your Question as the most liquid assets held by private companies, which are "currency and deposits".
Blue Book 2012 shows that total currency and deposits held by private non-financial corporations has increased annually since 2009 (shown in table 3.3.9 within the financial balance sheet for private non-financial corporations).
Blue Book 2012 shows that total currency and deposits held by financial corporations has increased annually since 2009 (shown in table 4.1.9 within the financial balance sheet for financial corporations).
The Blue Book also provides information on the net lending/borrowing position of private companies, which is the financial balance between their income and expenditure. If the financial balance of private companies is positive, they are net lenders and if it is negative, net borrowers.
Blue Book 2012 shows, for private non-financial corporations, an annually increasing positive financial balance since 2008 (shown in table 3.3.8 within the financial account for private non-financial corporations).
Blue Book 2012 shows that although since 2008 financial corporations have had a positive financial balance, this has subsequently decreased each year (shown in table 4.1.8 within the financial account for financial corporations).